Dusk is a throwback to fast-paced late 90’s FPS games such as Quake and Blood. It is set in an American midwest theme full of corn, men in overalls wielding chainsaws, and farms, among other things that come to mind when you think about that region of the US. Playing as an unnamed hero, we immediately find ourselves facing off against three of the aforementioned chainsaw men in a tight room with nothing but our sickles. It is quite an intense opening and for those quick on their feet, made easier when you discover you can pick up and toss items in this title.
Throwing things is a really handy way to save ammo and depending on the object & enemy, can kill them in one hit. This world is pretty interactive and is filled with things like sinks to fiddle around with, as well as other minuscule things that have no effect other than to increase your immersion. And what a world it is. While it has purposely dated graphics to look like the games Dusk was inspired by, it pulls off the horror vibe really well. It has a foreboding atmosphere all throughout, made even more chilling by the evil deity who is but a mere voice in your head that is constantly messing with you and laughing at your misfortune.
One of the ways it adds to this sense of dread is with its flashlight item. You use it to see in dark, pitch black areas and don’t have to worry about a battery or anything of the sort. It becomes a vital piece of equipment, making the situations where you can’t use it that much more panic-inducing. Even once you get a weapon that packs a much bigger bang than a simple pistol, Dusk finds ways to keep you on edge. Quite a feat considering this is a game where you can dual wield shotguns and bunny hop your way throughout the map at incredible speeds.
With all that said, you’ll still be shooting your way out of trouble and causing quite the ruckus the majority of the time. It plays exactly like an old school shooter in that you don’t reload, iron sights doesn’t affect your aiming, and there is no regenerating health. What that equates to is the player running around the place instead of hiding behind cover, and pulling off impressive hip-fire shots without the need to ever slow down. None of the enemies have hit-scan attacks, so the skilled player can avoid taking any damage from whatever deadly encounter they may face.
There is no location-based damage, meaning going for the head won’t cause any extra damage. The real skill comes in choosing the right weapon for the job, as opposed to pixel perfect shots. Each enemy has their own style of fighting, ranging from melee or ranged attacks. One thing that I found disappointing is that none of the foes have more than one attack, so they are quite one dimensional and can’t adapt past their strict range or melee status. As an example is Quake’s Ogre that would chainsaw you when you got close and fling a grenade your way if you tried to fight from a distance. The equivalent chainsaw foe here will simply waddle toward you if you get out of reach.
What they lack for in individual threat, they make up for in working in groups however. There is a wide variety of unique foes all eager to rip your face off, not to mention the amount of enemies thrown your way at any one time is far higher than most 90’s FPS titles. To tackle these threats you get an honestly underwhelming set of weapons. You have the genre staples such as pistols and shotguns, alongside some more creative ones like a magic crossbow that can pierce through multiple foes and that’s pretty much it actually. The rest are pretty unremarkable like a machine gun and hunting rifle, even the rarest weapon is just a glorified rocket launcher.
Dusk goes far beyond the initial American midwest theme after a while, it is a shame they didn’t add in more outlandish weapons. Regardless, every gun is fun to use and have their own place in your arsenal, never becoming useless. Learning at what range they are effective, their rate of fire, and how close you can detonate something without blowing yourself up as well will become crucial to the on the fly, split-second decisions you’ll have to make in the heat of battle.
There are quite a few boss fights throughout the three episodes this game consists of. They are usually pretty tongue in cheek, like one made to look and sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger. As cheeky as they are, every single one of them is more than capable of being the end of you. When the music kicks up and you see their health bar, it is time to pull out the big guns. Dusk does a brilliant job at not making it obvious these fights are about to take place and catching you unaware with these fights. Most of these had me thinking “wait, what?!”as I frantically tried to swap out weapons before being chomped on by an alcoholic alligator.
This is really where Dusk shines, in its overall amazing design. Sure its gameplay is completely genuine to the FPS titles of yesteryear, and by enabling some of the graphical settings to make the game look more true to the time period, it looks the part too, but that alone could not make it a great game. I’ve already mentioned the great underlying horror vibe it has, despite being a game where you run around shooting goats in the face with a shotgun. That same care and attention to detail that allowed that to be possible is also present in nearly every other aspect of the game. The enemy placement, level design, set-pieces, music, pacing, and so much more are masterfully done.
It is one wild roller coaster of a ride all throughout. You never know what to expect as you search for the colored key cards, as Dusk takes plenty of chances to defy your expectations. Things start to get more and more otherworldly as it progresses, until even gravity itself becomes an unstable force that literally flips your world on its head. Mentioning any specific event is essentially a spoiler, yet what I can say is that you will come away with many an unforgettable moment once you walk away from this nine-hour journey. And immediately going online to buy this amazing soundtrack if you are anything like me.
The other modes on offer include Endless and DuskWorld. Endless is a simple survival mode in where you pick one of the three small sized maps and fight until you drop. It is fun for a short time, but it has little lasting appeal and will get old before long. Duskworld is a bare-bones multiplayer component in where the only mode is free for all and contains nine maps. At the time of this review it has a small community in where you’ll be lucky to get in a match with more than a few people, unless you join the dev’s Discord to get notified for their planned events. I would not buy this for the multiplayer, though it is a nice addition nonetheless.
I’ve been desensitized to the marketing blurb of ‘retro-inspired’. Far too many times have developers thought that retro simply means visually unappealing and being systematic to a pre-established formula. Dusk, on the other hand, has created some very attractive environments using its dated textures, as well as captured that highly experimental time period of simply throwing in ideas because it seems cool. Like the rarely used climbing power-up that allows you to scale any surface, or an out of place looking launchpad that tosses you ridiculously high into the sky as you snipe down enemies mid-air. There is never a dull moment and when there is some downtime, they use it to unease to player with a sense of dread as you hear the unnerving breathing of some unknown enemy. Dusk is quite simply put a must play title for fans of FPS games.
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